Are you a genius? Answer this question.
 

Q: if you are driving in a car at 100 MPH and suddenly slam on the brakes,

while a fly is flying next to you in the front seat,

does the fly get smashed on the windshield?


:1orglaugh

First of all, let's point out the irony of misspelling the word "brakes" in this thread.

The answer is no, for the same reason you don't fly to the back of an airplane if you jump in the middle of the cabin. Though I don't think knowing that would qualify anyone as a genius.

No because cars are equipped with brakes not breaks. And also no because the fly has already been accelerated to said speed of 100Mph while being inside

your car.

Edit: Dang it bronco ya beat me to it!

I quit reading after "genius and breaks"

Yes, it does smash to windshield. I am not physics kind of genius, but if that fly goes 100mph and your car ain't anymore, there is going to be collision. As does any loose object in your car, including yourself (that's why there are seat belts).

Did anyone who talked shit about my typo get the correct answer?

:1orglaugh

Does jumping in an elevator make you jump higher?

Interesting...so if I'm in a plane and it slows down while im not wearing my seatbelt and jump up in the air I'll get smashed into the front of the plan at around 4-500mph...

It's not spelt wron.

It was spelled "breaks" before it was edited.

That's not a good comparison because the plane does not suddenly change speeds.
Better comparison is if the plane crashed straight down on it's belly with a fly in flight.
Would the fly be slammed to the floor?

No it wasn't.

:1orglaugh

The fly is in the air when you hit the brakes. So yes iit will hit the windshield. The fly is moving at 100mph with the car. However it is not attached to the car. Bronco... you had the right idea but backwards. If you jumped in the air at the sametime as a plane suddenly decreased its velocity say by 100mph. You would certainly be diaplaced several meters by the time you landed. Then probably break your neck because good luck landing at 100mph.

hitting the brakes and slowing down (albeit in a plane) is the same thing. You did not specify crashing or a sudden stop.

If the elevator is going down at 20 miles an hours and you jump up does you head hit the roof?

:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh yea, ok .......

physics not my subject . :)

no because you are already moving at the speed of the plane. If the plane stopped or instantly changed its speed when you were in the air then that is a fair comparison to the fly scenario.


QED

Imagine that the car comes to a very hard sudden stop(with some sliding of course).

which planet? :helpme

Holy fuck people. If you jump up in the air in a plane, you come down in the same place (close to it) because you are moving at the same speed as the plane. If the plane decelerates from 500MPH to 0MPH in a short distance such as plowing into the side of a mountain... you certainly continue forward at 500MPH. If it slows down, while you are suspended in the air, obviously you move forward because you are then moving forward faster than the plane. I mean this Sesame Street level physics here.

http://stepasideshow.com/wp-content/.../12/grover.jpg

Did you know if you are in an elevator and the cable breaks all you have to do is jump right before it hits bottom and you'll be ok? Fact! Happened to me twice.


.

It doesn't matter whether you jump in the air or not (although in the air there is less friction). The speed difference between you and the plane is what matters. Or if you think that you can survive car crash by jumping on your seat; be my guest. :)

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I was plowing your mom at 100mph last night and then came and suddenly stopped but was unhurt. She may have not survived

Next time turn on the light; that was your mom.

:1orglaugh

that's not genius level physics, that's basic entry level physics.

Newton's first law: an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an equal or greater force.

now that said, it can get complicated due to the density of air and the weight of the fly.

yes.....

why: because i'm a genius

The fly would smash into the windshield.

No, the inertia is not strong enough vs its light weight.

Evil genius, yes.

I am now working on tiny seatbelt prototype to protect fly from windscreen impact.

Shark Tank here I come.

bahahahha:thumbsup

Mental note - Never get in an elevator with you.

What if the front and back windshields were not on the car? The car would no longer be it's own environment. By the way, I think I brought this up to my dad when I was about 8 years old. He said "shut the hell up, I'm driving."

Like I would get a lot of views with this title "Are you basic entry level smart".

:1orglaugh

All flies weigh the same and all air in a car has the same density so answer the question.

I always have mixed feelings watching that show. Part of me wants to cheer on the guy with ambition and drive and determination to succeed... but part of me wants to sterilize them when i see what they are trying to market. (like the guy for instance who created a workout shirt where when its soaked in sweat, the logo then appears on the chest)

Sure thing, I'll need the weight of the fly and the density of the air.

My answer is, "maybe". The fly's reference frame is the air in the car, meaning that the fly is positioning itself relative to the mass of air in the car. When you hit the brakes, everything in the car will move toward the front because everything in the car has forward inertia while the car itself is rapidly losing inertia. The air mass in the car will slightly compress at the front of cabin and decompress at the rear, but since the cabin of the vehicle is completely filled with air, there should be no huge air currents created. The fly will probably move forward somewhat. Will it hit the windshield? Maybe, but I kinda doubt it. Of course, this is all predicated on the idea that the windows are up.

But hell, what do I know? My degree is in computer science, not physics...

Agreed. I am however quite certain that my fly seatbelt will be well recieved.

I just don't think a car can decelerate that fast using the brakes alone...hitting a brick wall yea the fly might hit the windshield. Slamming the brakes not so much.

Well, kill a fly and put it to little crash test. Not that hard. At least you would hit the windshield, why not the fly?

Or buy some coke from McDonalds, open the cup's cap, hold the coke in your hand and hit the brakes from 100 mph and see what happens.

A fly is a living object that can compensate. During its daily routine has all sorts of pressure and wind force exerted to its body during natural flight. A coke on the other hand doesnt. I understand what you're saying though. Just wondering if a fly actually has the capacity to compensate...maybe not at 100mph but at some speed.

I didn't read, Thanks

You can't kill the fly; the whole point is that the fly is airborne and flying.

It being airborne means that it will hit the windshield easier (less friction) and that flying part probably doesn't do much. There was stuff about compensating, but how will the fly know to compensate? You tell it that you will hit the brakes and explain that it will hit the windshield if it doesn't compensate?

Compensate for what? The fly will happily continue to "fly" 100 mph, until it isn't so happy anymore.

We need to create a fly impact detection system so the fly has ample warning and can begin to fly backwards

It is flying at 100mph +/- it's own airspeed/direction. How is that not obvious?

Is it an african or european fly?

http://i.imgur.com/bDPLZsA.jpg

I was developing this but I got flyswatter industry all over me. Same thing happened to my car that doesn't need any fuel or power source whatsoever.